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How Much Are Fireworks-Related Injuries Worth?

Published on: July 6, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Every year, nearly 13,000 people are injured by fireworks. Most of those fireworks are legal, though injuries may result from the negligent actions of another person. In those cases, there may be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.

Calculating the Worth of Firework-Related Injuries

Personal injury lawsuits resulting from fireworks include various types of damages. As such, if you’ve been injured by negligent use of fireworks, or if the fireworks used were defective, you may be entitled to the following:

How Does the Escrow Process Work in Real Estate Transactions?

Published on: July 2, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

In the course of real estate transactions, funds are held in escrow in order to keep them secure and to protect the interests of the parties involved in the transaction. The process itself is governed by many rules, but it can be broken down into some basic steps.

What Is Escrow?

In it’s most basic sense, “escrow” refers to money being held by a third party (i.e. someone apart from the buyer and the seller) during a transaction. When someone buys a property, they place funds in an escrow account, and those funds are held there until the terms of the purchase agreement are completely finalized. Funds are released and the title to the property is transferred once the parties in the transaction fulfill the terms of the agreement.

How Much Is a Coronavirus Workers’ Comp Claim Worth?

Published on: June 24, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Those who have become exposed to the novel coronavirus while on the job may be entitled to workers’ compensation, particularly when it impacts their ability to work and warrants medical treatment. However, it begs the question of how much these claims are actually worth. If your claim settles, how much would the payout be?

The simple answer is that it’s a bit early to tell just yet.

Settlements on Coronavirus Claims Are Uncertain

Tax Planning During a Crisis: How COVID-19 May Impact Your Taxes

Published on: June 19, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Many of the various reliefs and incentives put out by the government are intended to help ease the burdens of individuals and businesses alike. Whether you’re a high net worth individual with a complex financial scenario or a small business owner trying to make ends meet during an economic lull, the pandemic will likely impact your tax situation.

Tax Deadlines Postponed

One of the reliefs extended by the IRS is an extension on tax deadlines. Taxes and returns that were due in April are now due by July 15th. If more time is still needed, individuals and businesses are able to extend that deadline further by filing an extension.

Workers’ Compensation and Wrongful Death in Illinois

Published on: June 11, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Workplace accidents can sometimes be fatal, but even if the employer was at fault, a lawsuit may not be possible due to the way workers’ compensation law works. In Illinois, workers (or in this case, their families) cannot sue the employer for negligence in these cases. However, there may be a possibility for a wrongful death lawsuit if other parties were involved in the injury.

The Workers’ Compensation Trade-off

Illinois workers’ compensation law is something of a trade-off. Employees cannot sue their employer for their injuries (except in certain rare cases), and employers are obligated to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation benefits are provided regardless of fault, which means that while the employer may not necessarily be directly liable for a workplace injury, they are still responsible for covering the cost of those injuries.

Do I Have a Case if I Get Sick at the Hospital?

Published on: June 3, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Given the concentration of illness present at many healthcare facilities, it’s important for them to take stringent measures to prevent the spread of disease such as COVID-19 and common hospital infections. If you fall seriously ill as a result of being treated at a hospital, you may have a case, though there are factors that could keep you from recovering damages.

Note that during the coronavirus pandemic in Illinois, any healthcare facility that provides care or assistance for those who have contracted COVID-19 has some immunity to liability, so if your illness dates to this time, you likely won’t be able to recover damages.

Cases Involving Medical Infections

COVID-19 and Intellectual Property

Published on: June 1, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Most facets of life have been impacted by COVID-19, including the way we handle intellectual property. From enforcing IP protections to safeguarding trade secrets, the pandemic has introduced a number of changes.

Impact on IP Used in Remote Business Operations

For companies that have transitioned to remote work-forces, the way trade secrets and other sensitive information is protected has to adapt. Many businesses have had to adjust their current IP protection policies and implement new technologies and practices in order to keep trade secrets safe when being used by home-based employees.

Potential Consequences of Coronavirus on Real Estate Investing

Published on: May 25, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

Between the lower interest rates, government bailouts, and economic challenges present during the current pandemic, real estate investing is likely to be heavily impacted, at least during the short term. In some cases, real estate investors may find themselves with unexpected opportunities, while other scenarios present difficulties.

While it’s not totally clear exactly how investment properties will be affected as yet, there are some likely changes that will occur.

Consequences for Rental Properties

Personal Injury, Duty of Care, and Coronavirus

Published on: May 18, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

The spread of COVID-19 has caused a wide range of concerns for people everywhere, including worry about what will happen if they get sick. Falling ill with the virus can have a serious impact, and some may wonder if there might be cause for a lawsuit in the event of sickness.

Others may be concerned about the liability they might bear for the spread of the virus. The kind of shape that may take depends on how much of a duty of care will be expected from individuals and businesses when it comes to limiting the spread of the virus.

What Is Duty of Care?

Protecting Trade Secrets While Employees Work Remotely

Published on: May 15, 2020 | By Hart David Carson LLP

With the outbreak, more employees are working from home than ever before, and for many businesses, it has become necessary to revisit policies concerning the protection of trade secrets. It can be a challenge to keep proprietary information safe when employees need access to it from home, but it can be done with adequate protocols set in place.

Establishing Trade Secrets

The first principle of protecting trade secrets is to make sure they are legally recognized as such. In order for something to be considered a trade secret, you must have reasonable measures in place to protect it. Without those measures, it’s likely to lose that classification in a court of law.